NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home loan rates set new lows in the latest week on more evidence of a soft U.S. economy and high unemployment, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.
The average 30-year mortgage rate fell to 4.44 percent in the week ended August 12, the lowest since Freddie Mac records began in 1971. The prior record low was 4.49 percent a week ago, which was well below 5.29 percent a year ago.
Fifteen-year mortgage rates dropped 0.03 percentage point to average 3.92 percent, the lowest since records began in 1991. And five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) at 3.56 percent also set a record low, dating back to 2005.
"Interest rates for fixed mortgages and five-year hybrid ARMs again broke record lows this week following reports of a sluggish job market," Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac said in a statement.
The Federal Reserve this week downgraded its outlook for economic growth and initiated steps to keep interest rates low to help stimulate the economy.
(Reporting by Lynn Adler, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
